Disused railway cuttings set to bloom

Work to turn an area of disused railway land in Goldthorpe, Barnsley, into a new community space will start next week.

The unused piece of land that is the ‘Goldthorpe Railway Cuttings’ on Barnsley Road (see picture) will be transformed into a neighbourhood resource.

The project is being spearheaded by The Railway Embankment Group which received £20,000 funding from the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership (DVLP) to improve the area of land.

The space will feature an orchard and wildflower area and a community garden and picnic area – with a new access route to allow people to get into the site. A height extension to the Straight Lane Bridge has been constructed as part of the project. The scheme is due for completion in 2019.

Volunteers have been working to clear up the site which has been blighted by fly tipping for many years.

Children from Goldthorpe Primary School have been making bird boxes and a hedgehog hotel for the scheme to encourage wildlife to the area. They will be put onto the site once the access route is complete.

Interpretation boards designed by the DVLP will be installed to provide visitors with the history and facts about the site.

The DVLP is part of ‘The Railway Embankment Group’ – a group of local representatives set up by the Dearne Area Team to push forward the project plans. The group also consists of members from Goldthorpe Development Group, the Salvation Army, Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe Big Local, Network Rail, Twiggs Grounds Maintenance, university students from Sheffield, local residents and wildlife enthusiasts, landlords and other local groups and their members.

Liane Holdsworth, community officer at the DVLP, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this project with funding to enable residents and visitors to the area to enjoy a new outdoor green space on their doorstep.

“Our aim as a Landscape Partnership is to preserve and enhance our unique and varied landscape here in the Dearne Valley and we’re really looking forward to seeing the finished result of this project. We’d like to thank all the volunteers who helped clean up the area ready for work to begin.”

The Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership is a five-year scheme running until June 2019, supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project team based at Elsecar Heritage Centre in Barnsley, is made up of five people working on a range of environmental, heritage and community projects.